


You Stole My Notebook

by ProcrastinatingArtist



Series: Tumblr Prompts [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Darcy tries being a spy, F/M, Matchmaker Natasha Romanov, Science!Jokes, Set sometime after AOU, Suspicious Steve is Suspicious, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-21 21:18:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13749435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProcrastinatingArtist/pseuds/ProcrastinatingArtist
Summary: Tumblr prompt found on Pinterest:"I’m not stalking you, exactly, it’s just that you accidentally put my notebook in your bag and I’m waiting for a good moment to steal it back before you see the doodles of you I did in it"





	1. The Notebook

This meeting was the definition of tedious.  _No wonder Thor didn’t want to be here. He probably fell asleep the last time and didn’t want to deal with the snark from Tony again_. Darcy was seriously considering falling asleep herself. The meeting had only started ten minutes ago, and she can see the glaze in most everyone else’s eyes, almost as thick as the glaze on her donut that morning.

 

She had seated herself in the chair closest to the door, hoping that 1) she’d be able to make a quick exit as soon as this exercise in futility they’re calling a meeting is over; and 2) because all the other Avengers - those that had bothered to show up - are sitting closer to the screen and actually pretending to pay attention.

 

Stark was hiding behind his aviators, chin propped on his fist. Darcy would bet good money on him being hungover and/or snoring.  _Well, Jane’s money,_ she amended.  _Because I still haven’t gotten paid_.

 

Black Widow and Hawkeye were having some kind of staring contest while simultaneously sharpening knives. Or were having a knife sharpening contest while staring at each other. Either way, they weren’t really into the SI peon trying to convince them to stop destroying buildings when they “save” citizens from some enemy. Big bad, Stark weapons enthusiast, their own misguided judgement, whatever - “just stop dropping buildings on them!” he pleaded, unaware no one was paying attention.

 

Well, no one except Bruce, but Darcy figures he was really calculating experiments or something in his head, because he was a Science!Dude, and Darcy has first-hand experience being ignored by Science!People while under the impression they were paying her rapt attention.

 

Captain America, Pinnacle of the American Way and Leader of the Free World...was not in attendance. So much the better, since Darcy has been doodling moderately offensive comics in her notebook instead of taking notes for Thor.

 

“Darcy! I need you to attend an important meeting for me, as I must return to Asgard momentarily!” Oh, she wanted to hit him. Or tase him again. Of course he would ask her to go. His precious Jane would be much too busy to do anything as mundane as attending a superhero meeting. Or he took her with him…

 

As she was imagining ways to show Thor her displeasure, the door behind her opened. Startled, Darcy turned, to stare face-to-abs at one Steven Rogers.

 

_Not absent after all,_ she thought,  _just tardy._ Her inner middle-school teacher was just begging to make him a tardy slip out of her notepaper.

 

The peon had stuttered to a stop.  _Man he had an irritating voice_ , Darcy thought.

 

“Carry on.” Rogers spoke softly, as if her were aware of the waning attention of literally everyone else in the room.  _He probably was_ , Darcy decided, since he probably attended all the meetings.  _Well, partially attended,_ she amended,  _since he was late_.

 

To her surprise, he grabs the seat next to her and pulls a similar notebook out of a bag she didn’t realize he was carrying. Opening to a fresh page and fishing a pencil out of some other dimension, he begins to sketch the room. A quick rendition of Stark has her internally giggling, and the ease at which he captured the two assassin’s glares amazed her. In a move meant to hide both her poor artistry and her poor taste in humor, Darcy flipped to a fresh page as well.

 

As she was distracted, a whispered “how much have I missed” almost caused her to smack the American Ideal in the face. Reddening in mortification, she checked the clock in the room and managed to whisper back, “only about 20 minutes of this p...fellow mumbling about how you shouldn’t destroy the cities you save.”

 

His laughing gaze met her eyes, and all thought left her mind. Mostly sure he didn’t say anything back, she turned her attention to the blank page in front of her, fidgeting with the edges of the paper.  _Who would have thought. Baby Blues can take your breath away._

 

Suddenly, all she can think about is Steve. The ambient sound of the room faded out, and her focus centered in on the smooth strokes of his pencil on the page. His large hands held that pencil so delicately, yet so sure. His forearms were bared, dress shirt rolled up past his elbows.

 

She turned her tratorious gaze away, before he caught her staring at him.

 

\--

 

The end of the meeting could not have come soon enough for Darcy. Steve was a space heater. Just sitting near him was enough to begin to melt off her eyeliner.  _I am NOT sweating. It’s just...humid here._

 

Stark jerked awake when the peon dropped his expo marker, finally finished, as though he had a sixth sense for that. The assassins had already stood and made their way to the door, coinciding their exit with drop of the marker. Bruce stood carefully, as though he had actually paid attention and hadn’t glazed over by the end.

 

Steve...well, Steve took his time packing his art back up. He hadn’t been there the whole time, so it was understandable he wasn’t in as big of a hurry to leave as the rest. Tony clapped him on the shoulder hard as he left, causing Steve to turn and try to smack him back in some kind of male-bonding ritual, not noticing he had accidentally leaned over and grabbed the wrong notebook in his rush to get Stark back. Darcy only noticed when her brain got over being fried from having the Star-Spangled Abs in her face for the second time in an hour. Having the conference room suddenly silent around her helped, as the peon and Bruce had left together. Most likely so Bruce could get the TLDR recap. _Maybe I could convince Bruce to share that with me later,_ Darcy thought. Surely there was something she could hold over his head. Science!Privileges, probably. Or maybe just not sharing her homemade cookies for a while. Everyone loves Darcy cookies.

 

Gathering up her notebook and pen, she looked down and realized the art on the page wasn’t hers. It was very obviously not hers. For one, it was in pencil. Secondly, it was a hyperrealistic chibi Tony Stark, that Darcy may or may not have taken a photo of with her phone before closing the notebook.

 

Then she remembered the comics she had drawn of the previously absent Avenger. Who now had possession of them.

 

Oh no.

 

\--

 

Steve was having a great day. He irritated Sam in the tower gym by occasionally (always) saying “on your left” as he ran by on the track, since he knows how much Sam loves (hates) when he does that. He beat the shit out of a couple of the heavy bags, finally working up a bit of a sweat. Clint had brought Lucky in, so Steve got to spend hours with the overgrown puppy. Clint just laughed and said they had a “special bond.”

 

Then he got distracted by Thor, who attempted to whisper how he conned Darcy to take his place in the mandatory Avengers stop-costing-everyone-so-much-money meeting. Never mind that pretty much all of them could pay off any monetary issues any city had with their saving it.

 

Finally escaping Thor to attend the meeting, Steve noticed he made less of an entrance than he expected to. The underling leading the meeting (really? Fury couldn’t even have done it himself if it was such a big problem?) stopped speaking, but only the girl by the door (must be Darcy) noticed his entrance. Well, noticeably noticed his entrance, because there was no way Clint and Nat hadn’t marked the door opening. After appeasing the underling, he sat next to the girl. He caught a glimpse of what could have been a comic drawn on the page before she flipped to a new one.

 

When asking whether he missed something important, he found she smelled like jasmine and sunshine, and that she had some pretty stellar reflexes. Narrowly avoiding the flying hand, he grinned at her mortified expression and thanked her for her sassy summary. She glazed over for a second, but turned back to her notebook.

 

Through the meeting, he got the feeling that she was staring at him, but he tried not to let it bother him.  _People always stare at Captain America_ , he thought.  _It’s just a natural inclination._ Deciding not to worry about it, he started a chibi Nat. She always loved his chibi art, and he intended to get these inked before she inevitably found and stole them.

 

Thankfully, the meeting wasn’t very long after that. Everyone left fairly quickly, and he deliberated for a second whether he should say something to Darcy. She was a surprisingly decent table partner, occasional staring notwithstanding, and maybe she wouldn’t be opposed to a cup of coffee. Or at least to share what looked to be a good talent in art. Not a lot of artists in the tower to sit down and art with.

 

But then Tony interrupted him with a good natured shove, and Steve grinned.  _It’s on, Stark._

 

\--

 

Darcy clutched the notebook and lurked around the corner to Stark’s garage. Through a not-so-convoluted train of thought, she deducted that she may find Steve here.  _I mean, he was chasing Stark out of the meeting._

 

No dice. The garage was dark, the only noise being the air conditioning and the whirring of complex machinery she wasn’t allowed to touch. Because there was a sign up that read “ **Darcy: Do Not Touch** ” all because of that one time she tried to borrow something for Janie and happened to grab a semi-combustible  _thing_ that was not what Jane wanted. How was she supposed to know that?!

 

Next stop, the Avengers’ common room. Aka: the theater that pretends to be a living room. Darcy’s only been there once, when dragging Thor down to the Science!Lair to get Jane to go to sleep for once. All she remembered of it was that it was huge, dark, and held the glittering eyes of pretty much every Avenger and Avenger Significant Other in residence in the tower. Totally not awkward.

 

Also a bust. She did find Natasha, who, understandably, scares the crap out of her.

 

“Do you need something?” the Widow asks. After the eyeful of knife-sharpening Darcy got from the meeting, she doesn’t necessarily want to speak to her. However, figuring that not responding would be much stranger, and that the other woman would find out she was looking for Steve through some grapevine or other anyways….she decided to go ahead and spill her predicament.

 

When she finished summing it up (or, slightly reducing the detail on the entire story), Natasha grinned. “You mean, that’s Steve’s notebook?”

 

“Yes…” Darcy hesitated.

 

Natasha lit up and made grabby hands, suddenly reminding Darcy of small children.

 

_Well, I’ll either die horribly or have a better chance of finding Steve sooner. Here goes nothing._

 

After about and hour and a half of the two of them pouring over what was obviously Steve’s sketchbook, and Darcy attempting to convince Nat to not tear pages out ( _He’ll think_ ** _I_  ** _did it!_ ), and somehow becoming friends/partners in crime with her, Nat agrees to helping swap the notebooks back.

 

Cue lessons in walking softly and pretending you’re supposed to be places you were not.

 

Darcy finds herself in the gym, where Steve and Tony were duking it out. Steve in the same outfit he was wearing in the meeting, and Tony in one of his interchangeable suits. Steve appeared to be acting a bit of a little shit, mostly sabotaging Tony’s attacks and suit more than attacking back. Giving herself a moment to look at a couple of well-put-together dudes - was it a requirement to look good to be a superhero?! - she continued on her way across the gym to the locker rooms.

 

_Please don’t look at me please don’t look at me please don’t look at me_ , she thought as she walked as confidentially across the room as she could. All she had to do was cross the room.  _Just twenty more feet. Twenty. Ten feet now. Almost there...and…._

 

“Darcy?”

 

_Shit._

 

“Yes?”

 

\--

 

Darcy sighed. And she thought she was doing so well!

 

“Obviously you weren’t quiet enough. Or confident. We need a new plan.”

 

“Nat, obviously you should do it.”

 

“And take away the chance to get his head out of his ass? Never. Besides, watching you is the most fun I’ve had since I instigated Clint’s laundry escapade.”

 

“That was you?!”

 

“Yes. Yes it was.”

 

“That was  _inspired_.”

 

“No, it was just more...obvious than my other pranks.” Natasha clapped her hands together. “Now. Time to train! Get up! Put these heels on.”

 

\--

 

It’s been two days since Steve’s seen Darcy last. But he’s totally not counting. He’s come to expect to see her around every corner. Her unconcerned explanation for being in the gym comes to mind first.

 

“Oh, I was looking for Thor. You know, notes and whatnot. You seen him?”

 

“You almost got hit with a hundred-pound dumbbell!”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

Next, she had been lurking in the common room, rather guiltily. As though she would have been meeting someone? Steve couldn’t think of who. Tony’s got a thing going with the unflappable Pepper Pots, Clint has his family squirrelled away on a farm in the middle of nowhere, Bruce had sworn off all romantic relationships, and Thor’s relationship with Jane Foster has been going for at least three years now. Besides, surely she had gotten her notes to him already? It’s not as if they would be all that important. That meeting had been a joke at best.

 

Of course, Steve didn’t know Natasha had lept behind the couch when she heard the door open. Subterfuge only works when you stay in the shadows.

 

Then he found Darcy having lunch with Clint. Steve didn’t know they knew each other. He shook his head in disbelief at himself.  _Why wouldn’t they know each other? It’s a rather small community here. Hell, Clint was in New Mexico when they found Thor. Maybe they’ve always been chummy._

 

_Maybe it was Clint she was meeting in the common room?_ He pushed the thought from his mind.

 

Then she was at the reception desk at the unofficial Avengers headquarters 40 floors up Stark Tower. As he passed, he was pretty sure he heard the receptionist laughing at something Darcy said. The waft of jasmine followed him a good ways down that hallway, long after it should have faded.

 

He was beginning to get suspicious when he found her reading in Stark’s garage. Tony was blasting his rock music, as usual, and seemingly unaware of her presence. She looked so comfortable, as though this was her living room and it was entirely natural for her to be reclining on miscellaneous auto parts, being waited on hand and foot by Dum-E. She looked so out of place, in her pencil skirt and white button dress shirt, stockinged feet curled under her, manicured nails deftly picking at the pages. Hair curled precisely. Grease and rags all about her, but not a spot on her. It was like an image out of some magazine.

 

He was hesitating at Tony’s elbow, just staring.  _How did I not notice?_

 

Tony had to actually tap him to get his attention. When Steve turned, Tony asked, “whats up?”

 

“I, uh...How long she been there?”

 

Tony didn’t even glance over. “Not sure, actually. She just kinda...appeared. Been doing that lately. It’s getting kinda creepy. The superspies say they haven’t been pranking anyone lately, at least no one they’d need outside help for, and all her science-nerd friends say she hasn’t been by in a while.”

 

Steve blinked. “You actually talked to all those people cause some girl is showing up in your garage?”

 

Tony laughed. Darcy didn’t even flinch at the sudden noise. “You been drinking? Hell no. Had FRIDAY take a look at surveillance. Cornered the spies in the theater.” He finally glanced at Darcy. “‘ _Some_ girl,’ Cap?”

 

Steve turned and left, but not before seeing the dark seam up the back of her stockings as she resettled in her seat.

 

\--

 

Tony found Natasha in the communal kitchen, which was mostly just a drink station with some popcorn and candy necessities. She was fishing a pop tart out of the last box in the pantry, back turned, but Tony knew that didn’t mean she didn’t know he was there. Especially since he had slammed open the door and stomped his Iron Man boots through it.

 

“What are you playing at?” He demanded without preamble.

 

“I thought it was obvious. I wanted a pop tart.”

 

“No. With the girl.”

 

She flashed him a smile over her shoulder. “What girl.”

 

Tony wanted to stomp his booted foot. Dealing with Natasha was worse than going shoe-shopping with Pepper. “Darcy. She used to be a meek little science intern, and ever since she filled in for Thor at the prank meeting Fury pulled, she’s been turning up under everyone’s noses. What are you playing at.”

 

Nat finally turned and faced him. “It started as an honest mistake. A notebook swap. I may have convinced her to...escalate things a little.”

 

“A _notebook swap_ turned into this? What exactly is  _this_?”

 

Nat shrugged. “She’s stalking him while I try to find his notebook. Her notebook. Her mission is to see if his attitude changes.”

 

“Her mission? What is she, another Widow?! She’s an intern!”

 

“Which makes her a completely unexpected spy. It only took a little bit of training. She had all the basic framework.”

 

“Are you serious.” Tony couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This was so much more than what he had expected.

 

“Lighten up. If all goes as I plan, Cap will stop moping around the tower soon. And Darcy’s somewhat decent doodles will forever be a good joke among us all.” Natasha shrugged again. “Besides. They’d be cute together, whenever he gets with the program.”

 

\--

 

Darcy’s phone pinged. Nat convinced Tony to let FRIDAY text her whenever Steve starts going someplace, so that Darcy can try to get there first. She was starting to enjoy all the gumshoe secret operative stuff, thinking maybe she had a knack for it.

 

Checking her phone, FRIDAY’s update has him in the elevator, going down. No clue to where he’s actually going. No email or text was just read, no one called him anywhere. Shrugging, Darcy put her phone back down.  _Can’t do anything with that_.

 

A couple minutes later, she gets another ping, but just before she can read it, her door opens.

 

Steve steps through.


	2. Cookie For Your Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop! That was a ride

Darcy’s quarters are nothing special. Only a floor above the science lab Jane and Bruce and a few other high-level scientists use, and in the same hallway as all those scientists (except Bruce and Jane, obviously). When she moved in, it was smaller than she expected, but it didn’t take her long to realize that it was still pretty large. The Stark interior decorator seemed to favor minimalism mixed with a sci-fi future feel, and while that was cool at first, Darcy’s need to own her space overwhelmed the place. Soft, comfortable furniture had been moved in, courtesy of Tony’s bank account a couple of Thor’s friends, who only needed paid in food. Walls had been plastered in photographs and posters, and the bare floors were covered in thick rugs.

 

The open floor plan lent itself well to Darcy’s need to see everything. It was basically a very large studio apartment, with only decorative screens and Asgardian tapestries separating the bedroom area from the rest. It didn’t take long for her to start calling it home. 

 

The only thing in her life that hadn’t undergone a massive change lately was her wardrobe, but Nat was hoping to change that too. Baggy sweaters, oversized tees, leggings, jeggings, skinny jeans, comfortable shoes - all this was being systematically overhauled by a woman on a mission. A mission that Darcy was beginning to suspect no longer focused on her getting her notebook back. 

 

She was finally relaxing on her couch, wearing comfy clothes that Nat hadn’t gotten to yet - black leggings, pastel long-sleeved shirt reading “This is not a pipe,” and the fluffiest pair of socks she owned - surfing Tumblr with a fireplace channel on the tv, waiting on her latest batch of cookies to come out of the oven. Well, she was pretending to surf Tumblr now. Her tablet screen had gone black minutes ago.

 

She usually bakes when feeling emotions. Not any emotion in particular, just any lingering ones she’s not all that familiar with. This one seems to be a mix of confusion, stress, and frustration, and she didn’t know what to do about it. So, she bakes. 

 

No one seems to mind, as she hands out trays of whatever she makes to everyone she knows. Used to be, a giant box would be delivered to the living room/theater the Avengers frequent, so she didn’t have to individually wrap things and deliver them herself to people she didn’t know and didn’t know whether they could or would eat anything she gave them. Someone would eat it, and she was ok if that was just Thor.

 

Darcy wasn’t entirely mentally present when Steve walks into her apartment. She was definitely surprised, though. Almost no one seeks her out personally. 

 

“Uhh..hi,” she gets out. Steve wasn’t really dressed to impress either. Sweatpants, an actual, honest-to-Odin  _ loose fitting _ t-shirt, barefoot.

 

“Hey. Sorry, I didn’t realize this was your quarters. I thought it was all set up like...well, like ours. I would have knocked. Honest.” He looked like he was sure his ma would descend from heaven and smack the ever-loving shit out of him for daring to walk into a woman’s home uninvited. Hell, maybe she would. 

 

Darcy shrugged and gave a soft smile. “It’s ok. What brings you here?”

 

Now that he was in front of her, he seemed to flounder.  _ How do you ask someone whether they’re stalking you, without accidentally letting her know that it’s fine she continues? _ Instead of answering, he asked, “What’s that smell?”

 

One of her eyebrows came up. “Ma’s famous ginger snaps. Been working on them all day. Want one?” She rose and gestured him toward the kitchen alcove.

 

Steve flushed at his obvious evasion, then wondered when Darcy had met Natasha. Her actions of late now reminded him of the redhead, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

 

Misreading his expression, Darcy stuttered to a stop. “Uh, unless you’re allergic to something in them?”

 

“Oh! No, not allergic. Not allergic to anything, anymore.” Following her into the kitchen, he was dumbfounded by the sheer amount of cookies in the room. Some were in tupperware containers, but even more were just laying across the counters, taking up almost all the available horizontal space. There had to be at least a few hundred cookies. “What in the…”

 

Darcy took in the sight, trying to see it with new eyes. Yeah, there were a lot of cookies. She may have gone overboard this time. Ah, well. Someone will eat them, even if she has to drop them off at every office in the building. 

 

She grabs one of the still-slightly-warm ones from near the stove and hands it to him. As he’s taking a bite, a door opens near the back of the apartment.

 

“Hey, Darce, those cookies should be ready n-” Clint trails off, spotting Steve. Closing the bathroom door behind him, Clint ambles to the kitchen, unconcerned with the reaction he just had on the other man. 

 

Darcy just barely kept herself from reacting, thankful that Steve’s back was to her now. The bug-eyes and almost scream would not have been a good look on her. “Oh, thanks! Almost forgot.” She turned and dutifully checked the oven. Having spent quite a bit of time with both Clint and Nat lately, she recognized a distraction when she saw one. Which means Steve was here to ask about why she was being so weird. Which means she failed, again.  _ Damn it. _

 

On the positive side, Clint was right about her cookies. So, she used this time to ball another batch on the clean sheet and put it in the oven.  _ Only one more after this _ , she thought. As she worked, she listened in on Clint and Steve.

 

\--

 

Steve was mortified. Not only was she most definitely  _ not _ stalking him, she was also almost definitely having an affair with Clint.  _ Clint. _ He couldn’t believe it, but this was almost irrefutable proof. Why else would  _ Clint _ be in her apartment, while she’s in her pajamas? While  _ Clint _ was in his pajamas? 

 

\--

 

Because Clint was most definitely in his pjs. When Nat warned him Steve was headed for Darcy’s apartment, Clint didn’t have time to change. So Clint climbed through all the ducts in his Hulk boxers and a very snug Black Widow tank. He was also barefoot.  _ Dammit Natasha. _

 

\--

 

Steve tried to make small talk with the man. He tried not to let his old-timey sensibilities out. He tried not to visibly judge the two of them and what they were sure to have been up to - or will be up to - that day. He tried not to let his imagination get away from him. Seeing the two of them together in  _ her _ apartment…

 

The scent of jasmine now taunted him, mixed with the ginger and cinnamon of the baking cookies.  _ I need to get out of here. _ He turned to go. 

 

“Hey.” Softly, from behind him, still in the kitchen, Darcy stood holding out a large box filled with cookies. “You can have these.”

 

He took the box. He wasn’t sure he could eat them, even as good as they were. “Thanks. Sorry for interrupting. I’m just gonna...I’m gonna go.” And he did. 

 

He didn’t make it far. He stopped at the elevator, unsure of everything. He recognized that he had started to feel things for her. She was charming, funny, beautiful. And, apparently, the other woman. Does she know?  _ She has to know.  _ Everyone  _ knows Clint has a family hidden away. _

 

A thought struck him. _Why are they always hidden away? Is Darcy the only one, or are there others?_ _Clint, what are you doing?_

 

\--

 

The door closed behind Steve, and Darcy held her breath a couple seconds longer before letting it all out in a huge sigh. “That could have been a lot worse.”

 

Clint eyed her. “That could have been a lot better. I need to talk to Nat. You better come too.”

 

Picking up her tablet, he ringed Natasha up. “Yeah,” was the greeting, a view of a ceiling all they have for a second before the world rotates and Nat comes into view. “Clint. What happened?”

 

Darcy just looked at Clint. It didn’t seem all that bad to her. 

 

“You were right. Steve came here. Most likely to confront her about the stalking. But when I showed up to bail her out before it could go too far downhill...it deteriorated further. I’m not certain, but Cap may now be under the impression Darcy and I are...having an affair.”

 

A horrified gasp erupted from Darcy.

 

Natasha cackled while Clint whipped around to face Darcy, fake hurt written over his face. “But I’d treat you so well, darling!” She slapped him. Not hard, but she couldn’t stop herself. 

 

Clint still had the gall to grin at her mortified face. Rubbing his cheek, he turned back to Natasha. “So, what now?”

 

Wiping an eye, Natasha grinned back. “Well, we might as well switch the notebooks back now-”

 

“You got it back already?!” Darcy burst out. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

 

“Because I’m playing a longer game, Darce. You know me.”

 

A sigh. “What longer game.”

 

Nat’s cheeky smile was all the answer Darcy didn’t want. “Besides, I think Steve would have liked your comics. ‘Captain Puerto Rico’?”

 

“Ugh! You read them?”

 

“Some of these are pretty great.”

 

Darcy wanted to slam her head on the table. 

 

“Anyway,” Nat continued, “It’s time to pick things up. Clint, you’re on clean up. Try not to be obvious, but make sure he’s not thinking about you and Darcy together anymore. Darcy, Keep doing what you’re doing. This’ll just be recon. Study your mark, learn what you can about him from a distance.”

 

“Got it,” Clint said, and right before he disconnected, Nat called, “and bring me some cookies!”

 

\--

 

Tony didn’t pay much attention to the people around him. Machines are simpler and require less red tape when dismantling them. But there were a few things he noticed. 

 

First, Darcy was practically installed on the spare parts in the corner. The last three days, she’s been sitting there, pretending to read, and occasionally turning shades of red. He once almost held a part of his suit up next to her, to see if the colors matched.  _ Maybe I should ask Pepper to talk to her. _

 

Second, Steve hasn’t been down once. Actually, he hasn’t been out of his quarters since he dropped a giant box of cookies in the communal kitchen. Tony grabbed a couple; he can tell what cookies came from Darcy from any other kind of cookie. Tony also checked with FRIDAY about what Steve’s been up to. As far as he can tell, Steve just picked up cookies from Darcy.

 

Third...Something’s up with Natasha and Clint. Tony shrugged. They’re probably just working up to another prank war.  _ But still. Something’s off. _

 

He’ll talk to Pepper. She’s better about things involving people.


	3. Coffee?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a couple minutes, Tony sniggered and held out a hand to Sam. “Twenty bucks on Nat.”
> 
> Sam looked at the two a bit longer, then at the hand. “I’m not gonna take that, mostly because I just saw Pepper look in one of the windows.”
> 
> “Shit!” Tony leapt up, but he was too close to the middle of the room to escape.
> 
> “Guilty conscious?”
> 
> Tony squinted at him. “No, but she’s already bitch slapped someone in this room today and I don’t feel like being the second.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! Not sure how this works, but thought a WARNING would be appropriate.  
> WARNING: Mentions of Suicide  
> No death, cuz I don't know how to be that mean. Yet.
> 
> Also, props to hhhellcat (if I could figure out how to hyperlink, I would) for reminding me of one very useful scene. Thanks!
> 
> Side note, I was listening to "Reckless Love" by Cory Asbury while I wrote this whole thing. On repeat. So I know it's a really great tune to have in the background if you want.

If Darcy had been paying attention, she would have heard Tony’s music turning off as he left. If she had been using the training Nat has been teaching her in the last couple weeks, she would have heard the door open a second time, letting someone else in. Instead, she was startled when neat, clean nails pulled the neglected tablet away from her face. 

 

Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries herself, was kneeling in front of the stack of metal Darcy’s called home for the last three days. With a concerned look on her face.

 

All Darcy could do was stare in shock. 

 

“Hello, Darcy. I’m Pepper. I don’t believe we’ve met.” When Darcy shook her head, Pepper continued. “Tony tells me you haven’t left here in...a couple days. Something going on?”

 

Darcy continued to stare at her for a second, blushed a bit, and whispered, “I think I accidentally gave Nat permission to set me up with Steve and screwed it up and now he thinks I’m having an affair with Clint.”

 

It was Pepper’s turn to stare in shock. “Oh. Oh no! Clint didn’t even stop me!”

 

\--

 

It was a day that will be forever remembered. Pepper Potts, Matriarch of the SI Tower, storming into the gym in the middle of the day. Agents stopped in their tracks. Avengers-in-training ceased sparring. Tony slipped out a side door, praying she wasn’t after him this time.

 

Natasha backed away from Clint when she saw where Pepper was headed. 

 

With a surprising show of force, Pepper grabs Clint by the shoulder and spins him around to face her. Before he could make a sound, Pepper, in a low but no less forceful voice, demanded, “What have you done.”

 

Clint thought back on the pranks he’s played lately. There hadn’t been one on Tony in about a month ( _ I should fix that _ ), and he would never target Pepper Potts. He looked up at her, face a study in confusion and guilt, eyes wary. “I don’t-”

 

He was cut off by a very loud, very forceful smack from the CEO. Pepper looked almost surprised she hit him. Remembering where she was, she straightened her spine, carelessly dropped her stinging hand to her side, and whispered, just as forcefully as before, “We’ll finish this later.” She turned on her very tall heel and left the gym just as she entered it. 

 

Silence reigned in her wake. Slowly, all eyes turned to Clint, who was still standing dumbfounded where Pepper left him. Natasha gripped his elbow and started to lead him out of the gym, albeit in a different direction. “C’mon.”

 

He let her lead him, so shocked he somehow got  _ Pepper Potts _ to slap him in front of god and everyone, he didn’t notice Nat was trying her damndest to not burst out laughing before leaving the gym. She didn’t make it too much further than the first door down the hallway, which she opened and shoved Clint into. 

 

As she descended into both laughter and a crouch, Clint realized she had forced him into a spare equipment room. Miscellaneous gym apparatus were stacked along the walls and piled on the floor. Settling himself on a stack of foam mats, he waited for Natasha to get over her temporary insanity and tell him what the  _ hell _ just happened. 

 

\--

 

Having been informed that Steve had left the tower to meet up with Sam and some of Sam’s VA buddies, Darcy found herself in the Avenger’s common room again. The box she had sent with Steve sat forlornly on the counter in the kitchen. She sighed, but grabbed a couple cookies to take to the couch with her while she waited. Surely Clint and Nat would be back soon.

 

Not too much later, they did reappear, with Thor not too far behind them. Before Darcy could talk to the spies, Thor interrupted with a hearty, “Lightning Sister! I have heard the great news! You and the Hawk are having relations!” Darcy winced, Clint gaped, Natasha merely stopped laughing and studied Thor. Unaware of the effect of his words, Thor continued. “When I asked you to take my place at the meeting, that is not the outcome I expected, yet it is still pleasing to me!”

 

Darcy was attempting to hide her mortification-red face behind her hands. Not that Thor would have noticed; he is easily the most oblivious Avenger, though closely followed by Tony.

 

Clint took a couple steps away from Thor, as though hoping the distance would help him disassociate with the entire conversation. The last thing he wants right now is for someone else to wander into the room and hear what he’s being accused of doing.

 

As though reading his thoughts, Natasha moved to the door and leaned against it. At least they’ll have to get through her first.

 

Having worked her way up to responding to the exuberant god, Darcy managed to squeak out, “the meeting?” Then, as another thought struck her, “You were setting me up?!”

 

Thor just chuckled. “Of course! The Furious One knows how little I enjoy his meetings, and he informed me this one was merely an overzealous, insignificant agent wanting to make a difference! Of course, I delayed the good Captain a little, to ensure he would be late and sit near you, but I suppose it was all for naught! You are more efficient than I gave you credit for!” He looked around, and not finding whatever it was he was looking for, he declared, “We should celebrate! Where is Tony’s stash of liquor?”

 

That was as much as Darcy was going to take. She planted herself firmly in front of Thor, and grabbed his shoulders to ensure his attention.”THOR! I am not now nor am I ever going to date Clint! Clint already has a family!”

 

Thor turned to look at Clint, dragging Darcy around with him. “You have a family?”

 

Clint sighed heavily in relief, seeing the light at the end of this far-too-long tunnel. “Yes. I am married to the most beautiful woman I have ever met. Laura Barton is the light of my life; our children the apples of my eye. You know what? I’m gonna go call them. This was hilariously awful and I want to tell her before one of you guys do.” He looked pointedly at Nat.

 

Thor watched Clint leave to his rooms, looking somewhat stunned. “Married and children? How has he kept that secret?”

 

Darcy let him go, sighing happily, seeing the light as well. “It’s not actually much of a secret. Like, all the Avengers were at his house. Weren’t you there too? I mean,  _ I _ wasn’t there, but I thought someone told me you were? Maybe Nat?” Darcy leaned around Thor to look at her, still lounging carelessly against the door. 

 

“Yeah, he was there. Not for long though. And Tony kept saying they were all agents, even the kids, so maybe that threw him off?”

 

Thor looked between the two women, then shrugged. “Fine. If you and the Hawk are not in a ‘relationship,’” Darcy could hear the quotes around the word, “then why is the Captain so upset?”

 

Darcy caught her breath. Natasha lit up as though Christmas came early.  _ Does that mean...? _

 

\--

 

Steve felt like absolute shit, and he wished he could blame it on the booze Sam insisted was the “good stuff.” But the serum had something to say for that excuse, and it was “yeah, right.” There was nothing for it. Steve had spent the last two and a half weeks getting accustomed to having one  _ particular _ woman underfoot. One charming, beautiful, civilian woman. Looking back, he could see how this one was different. Nat wasn’t just saying  _ “There’s a cute girl across the hall from you, she’s a nurse, ask her out to coffee,” _ she was putting real effort into her. Bruce had spoken of her to him. Hell,  _ Jane _ had talked her up to him, and he thought Jane either didn’t know or didn’t care what kind of office romances occurred around her.

 

Even Tony recognized what she had started to mean to him.  _ “‘Some girl?’”  _

 

If only she weren’t so persistent. If she wasn’t under his nose everywhere he turned. If she didn’t smell so damned good all the time. If only he hadn’t found that out at that damn meeting two and a half weeks ago.

 

He wished he could find his sketchbook. Since the meeting, it had been conspicuously absent, even though he remembered putting it in his bag when he left. He needed to draw, and he wanted his unlined book for it. Because of course he only had the one. 

 

Because he knew that if he picked up a pencil, only one thing would come out the end of it. Dark blue eyes, wavy chocolate locks, and a figure reminiscent of his original time. Those stockings with the seam up the back she was wearing that one time in Tony’s shop. The black velvet skyscrapers discarded artistically by her curled up, stockinged feet. 

 

Was the whole thing a seduction? Did she do it all on purpose? Then why Clint? If she was seductively stalking him, why was Clint in her room? Steve sighed, knowing he wouldn’t learn anything unless he spoke with one or both of them. He grabbed another heavy bag from his pile in the gym and replaced the one he just exploded across the floor. 

 

As he was reaffixing the tape across his knuckles, the gym door behind him opened. “It’s booked,” he called out, not caring to look. “Come back later.”

 

“No.”

 

He dropped his hands to his sides, leaving his head bowed.  _ Looks like I might get some answers sooner than I thought _ .

 

He turned to face Natasha. She was in her black catsuit, lacking only her shoes and widow’s bites. Hair loose, tumbling past her shoulders in a curly, fiery mane. The only tell to her mindset the gleam in her eyes and the set of her jaw. She was here because she expected a fight, and she expected it fair.

 

If she were anyone else, he would have declined. Even if she were Clint, he’d have said no. But Natasha was not Clint, and Natasha knew what she could handle, and damn anyone who tried to say differently. 

 

Steve cocked his head obligingly, toed off his sneakers, and followed her to the ring. He was getting his answers, and she looked like she wanted to beat them into him. The corner of his mouth ticked up into a smirk as he squared off. He was nothing if not willing.

 

\--

 

“Sir,” FRIDAY intoned into the garage. “There is an increasingly deadly fight occuring in the gymnasium.”

 

Tony looked up sharply, silencing his music. “Screens.”

 

As the images formed, he frowned. Nat and Steve attempting to kill each other was not what he expected. There was also a lot less weaponry than he expected as well. “Is there a reason for this… scuffle?”

 

“Not that I can tell, sir.” A quick playback of Natasha’s entrance ensued, and Tony agreed that seemed innocuous enough. 

 

“Hmm.”

 

\--

 

Sam was almost barreled over by Tony in his haste to reach the gym. Sam was just going to check on Steve, since he left him in the gym a couple hours ago and hasn’t heard from him since. Tony, apparently, was in a much bigger rush. When Tony recognized him, Sam heard him say “what the hell” as his arm was grabbed in a near death grip and hauled after Tony to the gym. 

 

Bursting through the doors, Sam was greeted with the sight of two very capable people duking it out in the ring. Steve was massive compared to Natasha, but he was also slower than the lighter woman. It was a surprisingly even fight.

 

Their entrance hadn’t fazed either of them, so they settled onto some lifting equipment and watched. After a couple minutes, Tony sniggered and held out a hand to Sam. “Twenty bucks on Nat.”

 

Sam looked at the two a bit longer, then at the hand. “I’m not gonna take that, mostly because I just saw Pepper look in one of the windows.”

 

“Shit!” Tony leapt up, but he was too close to the middle of the room to escape. 

 

“Guilty conscious?”

 

Tony squinted at him. “No, but she’s already bitch slapped someone in this room today and I don’t feel like being the second.”

 

\--

 

Pepper’s entrance was underwhelming, compared to her appearance earlier in the day. That’s not to say it was less emotional, especially since she had seen the outstretched hand. 

 

“Tony!” she hissed. “What are you doing? Why aren’t you stopping them? FRIDAY says you’ve been here for ten minutes!”

 

Sam edged backwards.

 

A sharp THWACK from the ring made the three of them flinch and turn, but the flow of the fight made it impossible to tell who landed the hit. Both were beginning to look a little bruised, a little out of breath, but they were still doggedly pushing on. Pepper thought it looked like Natasha was speaking to him whenever they grappled, and his replies happened when they separated.  _ Perhaps Tony had the right of it _ , she thought, though she knew she’d probably never tell him that. 

 

Perhaps her presence wasn’t necessary.

 

\--

 

Darcy found her way to the top of the tower. She had to sweet-talk FRIDAY to let her onto the roof, where Tony had his showdown with Loki a few years ago. If she squinted, she could see the story play out as Thor told it, hear glass breaking as Tony was launched out the window, sans suit.

 

She settled herself in a spot far enough away from the edge and curled up, Nat’s borrowed shoes kicked off and feet underneath her.  _ Wish I brought a blanket. Didn’t think about the wind. _

 

She wasn’t really sure what had happened these last few days. Sure, she asked Nat for help with the sketchbooks, and got a couple of lessons in how to fix her own problems. Nat’s thought process was surprisingly straightforward, sometimes. She did everything herself, or she died, so that’s how she helps others. She prepares them, and she lets them go. 

 

But then things got messy. Darcy couldn’t quite do anything right. By trying so hard to look confident, she was almost beaned by an overenthusiastic supersoldier throwing things he probably shouldn’t have been throwing. She had to strike up conversation with an ogling receptionist because Steve marked her in the office. She missed three whole pages of her book in Stark’s garage because he stared at her instead of glossing over her like Tony had been.

 

She caught her breath. Did he really distract her so much? Why couldn’t she read words on a page right in front of her nose? She even had her contacts in that day! How dare he be so stupidly good looking, wearing those tiny shirts and having those brilliant eyes. She could almost feel them on her now, and the need for a blanket seemed to lessen for a while.

 

Recalling that day in the faux meeting, back when she still had her own sketchbook, she almost laughed. How could she miss it? Of course he’s freakishly attractive to her; she almost accidentally licked his abs twice within an hour. Any girl that close to him would have become instantly fertile. Then he has to go and do the dumb roll-up-the-sleeves-of-my-dress-shirt thing that makes everyone instantly 99% more attractive. She may as well have been sitting in the presence of a sex god. 

 

_ “ _ _ Study your mark, learn what you can about him,” _ Natasha had said. Oh, she had learned. He liked his coffee black, except when he didn’t think anyone was watching, then he dumped most of a spray can of whipped cream in it. He would rather spend his time watching the world through windows than a tv screen. He studies people with the eye of an artist and the care of a close friend. He hunches his shoulders when he’s alone in a room with a smaller person, as if to make them more comfortable. 

 

When he smiles, his whole face shines, and Darcy can almost taste the happiness. When he looks at her, his face softens, and her heart stops.

 

When Clint walked out of her bathroom, ceiling tile propped inconspicuously against the wall behind him, Steve’s face fell, and Darcy wanted to say anything, do anything, to get him to smile at her again. To get him to stop looking like the world ended.

 

Darcy closed her eyes.  _ All this time. All this time, and I didn’t notice myself falling for him _ .

 

\--

 

When Darcy asked FRIDAY for access to the roof, FRIDAY pinged Tony. 

 

Tony still didn’t quite have the whole story. He knew Steve and Darcy have been dancing around each other for the last week or so, and that Clint and Natasha were somehow involved. Clint was somewhat at fault, if Pepper’s slap meant anything like the slaps she gives him. Ergo, Darcy was involved somehow with both Clint and Steve. Steve is currently in a life-and-death battle with Natasha, BFF of Clint and part-time matchmaker. Steve is pissed at Nat for letting Darcy get involved with Clint?  _ But Clint has a family _ , Tony’s brain helpfully supplied.  _ That helps the slap make sense. _

 

_ Wait. _

 

_ Clint has a family. Darcy was involved with Clint. Darcy is now on the roof of the tower, some ninety-odd floors off the ground. _ Tony’s never been more certain of something in his life.

 

_ Please don’t jump. _

 

\--

They were all gathered on the top floor of the tower, looking through the glass at Darcy. She was still sitting well back from the edge, the wind whipping her hair around her face unheeded, her now-dirty stockinged feet still tucked under her on the ground. 

 

Steve’s heart was still beating well above his usual accelerated rate. When Tony jolted to his feet and promptly tripped over the exercise bench he was sitting on, him and Nat had stopped and looked at the unusual occurrence. Sam mentioned how he wished he had a video of it.

 

Then Tony spat out what crossed his mind.  _ What if she was up there to take the quick way down. _ They all ran out of the gym at that.

 

FRIDAY managed to catch them before they all made asses of themselves, showing a live feed of the roof. Showing Darcy’s surprised face as she sat there on the gravel, staring at nothing any of them could see.

 

That didn’t mean they all didn’t get to the top floor as fast as they could, just to make sure. Clint and Pepper had even joined them, having had their discussion and Pepper having apologized profusely.

 

Now, though, Steve stood alone at the glass, the others having backed up some when his single-minded intensity was noticed. His breathing hadn’t slowed; his shoulders still heaving.  _ It wasn’t like this when I thought she was with Clint _ , he noted, then shook his head at himself.  _ That was less permanent. _

 

She looked like peace, out there in the swirling winds. She looked like home in a world that had moved on without him.

 

Despite the fact that she hadn’t been in the room in more than thirty minutes, Steve fancied he could smell the jasmine and sunshine, mixed with lingering tones of cinnamon and ginger. This thought spurred him to open the door and join her outside, where maybe, just maybe, she would look at him, and smile, and welcome him home.

 

\--

 

The crunch of gravel alerted her to his presence before he reached her, but only just. She tried to quickly stand, but the gravel threw her off and propelled her into him, instead of the collected version of herself she was hoping for. 

 

His hands were warm, almost alarmingly so, and his arms almost seemed to hold her to him longer, she was sure, than they really did. Oh, but she wanted him to hold her longer. 

 

He held her just less than his arm’s length away, just in case his presence wasn’t as welcome as he hoped. The last time he saw her in person, he had slunk away with his tail between his legs, thinking the worst of her and Clint, each being someone it would hurt greatly to cut out of his life. He drank in her presence like a parched man drank water: a little at a time, lest he drown.

 

His slow perusal allowed her to do the same, unnoticed. She saw the remnants of desperation, not realizing what caused it. She saw the care, the kindness, and most obviously, the interest.  _ So it was true _ .

 

“Steve. What’s, uh, what’s up?”

 

He waffled for a moment, then decided on the easier truth. “Well, FRIDAY told Tony you wanted access to the roof, and he seemed to think you were going to, er, jump.”

 

“Jump?  _ Off the roof? _ ”

 

His hands tightened on her shoulders. “Yeah.”

 

Darcy glanced towards the glass, but the tint of the windows and the reflection of the sky made it impossible for her to see inside. Looking back at Steve, all she could think to ask was, “why?”

 

A heavy sigh left him. “Because he may have heard that I was under the impression that you...were  _ involved _ with Clint.” A flashback to an airplane in thunderous skies, desperation and confusion filling the small craft.  _ “Fondue?” _ He almost snorted. History does repeat itself. 

 

Darcy turned beet-red in an instant. “Yeah, that wasn’t what was going on.” Steve chuckled, glad to finally have one of the two of them to refute it. Natasha saying it wasn’t so was one thing; having  _ her _ say it...He felt a hundred pounds lighter. “See, I didn’t even know Clint was going to be there,” she continued. “I may have been...doing something for Nat, and when you came in, I guess they thought I needed an out. So Clint came in to be an alibi or something. I’m not really sure. I saw later Nat had tried texting me, but you came in before I could read it, and all that happened. You really thought I’d get it on with Clint? I mean, no offense to him, but he’s not really my type. What is he, 40? I’m 23, for Odin’s sake! He’s practically my dad! Ok, yeah, that’s not likely, but still. Totally possible.” Steve’s full on belly laughing now, and pulls Darcy in for a hug on instinct. Pressed against his chest again, she couldn’t help but smile up at him. If she were feeling particularly poetic, she would say he smelled like laundry detergent and freedom. Though “freedom” may be a loose translation of “body sweat.”  _ Filed under: Cap jokes to turn into comics. _

 

“You know I’m like, a hundred, right?” Steve asked when he finally got himself under control. He wasn’t letting her go, though, unless she wanted him to.

 

Darcy snorted. “Eh. I don’t think the years count if you didn’t live them.”

 

He leaned back just enough to look her straight in the eyes. “Does this mean I’m your type?”

 

She didn’t even hesitate. “Yes.”

 

“Good,” barely left his lips before they were on hers, and she melted like butter in a microwave. Everything about him was warm, she learned, as her cold nose rubbed against his and their lips came together again and again, until they didn’t, but that was ok, because then he found her jaw, then nipped at her earlobe, and she wanted to crawl under his skin. She must have been halfway there, because he gasped in a breath and straightened, but kept holding her against him. 

 

“How…how about coffee? You like coffee?” Looking down at her, he saw her beaming back up at him.

 

“Coffee? Are you kidding? It’s like, my second favorite thing in the world,” she answered. Before he could ask what her first favorite thing was, as if it weren’t obvious now, she continued. “How about I bring my notebook? Nat says you’d enjoy my comic humor.”

 

He smirked in self-depreciation. “Sounds great. I’d bring mine, but I seem to have misplaced it.”

 

Darcy had the good grace to flush. Looking down, she admitted, “I may know where it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been floating around in my head since I posted the last chapter. And I'm pretty sure this one doubled my total word count. Thanks so much for reading and loving it! You all are amazing.


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